Memorable series showcased rivalry

Recently a fan sitting near me at junior hockey handed me a column from the March 2014 edition of the Hockey News about the memorable 1941 senior hockey series between the Sydney Millionaires and the Glace Bay Miners. The main elements were the bitter rivalry between two communities, the quality of the players, especially goaltenders, and the intrigue of the owners and hockey organizations.

leroy peach

In 1941, the Cape Breton Hockey League had three teams, the North Sydney Victorias, the Sydney Millionaires and the Glace Bay Miners, each with imports. The Victorias had two stars, the 25-year-old goaltender, the lanky William "Legs" Fraser, from Winnipeg, and the legendary 27-year-old Tic Williams from PEI. Still, North Sydney finished a distant third. Both the Miners and Millionaires had better teams. The Millionaires, some of whose players worked at the Steel Plant, won the league title by three points. Hence the seven-game final, with the opening game in Sydney in early March.

For the Miners, there was a problem: Jimmy Foster, their regular goalie, formerly of the Quebec Aces, was declared ineligible by the CAHA, as was Moe White, of Verdun. They were designated as players on business transfers, with Foster supposedly working at a Glace Bay clothing shop, and White at a photography studio. In reality, they worked only at hockey. The Miners therefore had to revert to their 19-year-old inexperienced backup goalie, Earl "Leaky" Boates, from P.E.I.

Boates played five games at season's end and won two. To win the series, however, general manager Marty MacDonald felt he needed a stronger netminder. According to journalist David MacDonald, in an article in the Readers' Digest, the "wily" Marty MacDonald paid Boates to join the Airforce, allowing Glace Bay permission to add a player under existing rules. But he needed to join by March 1. The deadline came. Boates did not join. Instead, he disappeared and the media at the time had no idea where he went. The Miners therefore had no goaltender. Apparently, the manager arranged for Boates to go to Montreal and lie low.

Meanwhile, the Cape Breton League, the MAHA, the CAHA and the Millionaires agreed to permit the great "Legs" Fraser to join the Miners. Fraser was a showman, whose skill and antics met with the approval of the fans. The Millionaires were very confidant, however, that they could win anyway.

For game one, the Sydney Forum was packed with 4000 fans. Fraser was almost unbeatable. The Miners won 4-1 and the series was immediately played under protest.

In the second game, at Glace Bay, there were 5000 fans. Since I attended hockey in the 1940s, I believe that the fans must have been packed in like sardines. No matter. Fraser stood on his head and the Miners prevailed, 1-0. The Millionaires' run for the Allan Cup was slipping way. They needed to win game three in Sydney.

In my next column, I shall give the result.

LeRoy Peach lives in Port Morien and may be reached at leroy_peach@yahoo.ca. His column appears every two weeks in the Cape Breton Post.